Up next from the "Iron Werks" is a late war Japanese jet that was based loosely on the Messerschmidt Me-262 jet. This is the Fine Molds model, and it is going to be an out of the box build with no additions.
The plane made it's maiden flight on August 7th, 1945,
and a second and final flight was made several days later. RATO pods were used on the second and final flight. They were mounted beneath the wings, inboard of the engines, and can be observed in this next photo that was taken shortly before the second flight was made.
One surviving example currently resides in the Smithsonian, and it is made up of parts from several different machines.
It was supposed to be used as a high speed kamikaze plane, and most likely would have been very difficult to intercept if flown in massive numbers. However it most likely would have met it's demise due to the increasing use of proximity fuses on most US Navy anti aircraft artillery weapons. The shell didn't have to make a direct hit, instead "close enough" was "good enough" as proximity fused rounds would explode when they were close to the intended target with devastating results. The Japanese were gearing up for production of the type and approximately 20 or so examples were found at the end of the war by the occupying forces.
The submarine that was carrying the plans and parts needed to construct a Japanese version of the German Messerschmidt 262 was sunk by the Allies prior to reaching it's destination. The Kikka was smaller than the 262, and differed in many ways. It's basically a twin engine jet with an "almost" straight wing, and that's about where the similarities end.
As typical for most builds, the work begins with the cockpit. It is a simple but efficient looking assembly and goes together very well.
It is sandwiched in between the fuselage halves along with the nose gear bay.
A bolt is provided to weight the nose down.
Strap in for a quick trip back in history...
As usual comments are encouraged. Thanks
1 additional image. Click to enlarge.